\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There’s an old saying that goes something like this:\u00c2\u00a0 “Everyone’s greatest blessing is also their greatest curse”.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ll bet that sometimes you might feel that way about your own family.\u00c2\u00a0 Because our greatest joys come from our family; like the feeling you had when you fell in love with your spouse; or experiencing the birth of your child; or the joy on the faces of children on Christmas Morning.\u00c2\u00a0 But our families can also be the source of our greatest suffering: like the loss of a loved one; or when our children leave us; or when a relationship begins to sour.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
You know, the family unit is God’s plan for humans.\u00c2\u00a0 God could have made us like ferns.\u00c2\u00a0 Ferns are self sufficient and self propagating.\u00c2\u00a0 They don’t need moms and dads.\u00c2\u00a0 But humans need a family to survive and propagate.\u00c2\u00a0 We are made in the image and likeness of God, and God is a Trinity.\u00c2\u00a0 Our families are like the trinity- Moms, Dads, and children, three distinct parts.\u00c2\u00a0 Each has their own role; each is dependent on the other.\u00c2\u00a0 Sirach talks about those roles, and the respect that is due to each person in the family- respect due to Fathers, Mothers, and Children.\u00c2\u00a0 And love is the centerpiece of those mutual relations between the members of a family.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family.\u00c2\u00a0 It is our Parish Feast Day, because our Parish is Holy Family.\u00c2\u00a0 I am certain that very many of us celebrated Christmas as a Family- an extended Family that includes 4, even 5 generations.\u00c2\u00a0 This is how it should be, because all of our family shares in the gift of the Incarnation, how God became man, and the salvation of humanity that comes with it.\u00c2\u00a0 All of us should share in that joy with members of our family.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 But sometimes, when families gather, there is strife.\u00c2\u00a0 It is part of the curse I talked about earlier.\u00c2\u00a0 The strife may be over old grudges that surfaced; or nagging that reminded us of frequent nagging in the past.\u00c2\u00a0 Or the strife might be fueled by jealousy or hurt over some part of the gift giving.\u00c2\u00a0 Somebody might be upset that they got light chocolates rather than dark chocolates; or Tommy’s toy is more in vogue than Dick’s; or this sweater is just not something I could ever wear.\u00c2\u00a0 In any event, today is a good time to put all that strife aside, and focus on the Christian Family.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
First, we need to recall that our Advent experience was over joyful expectation of the coming of Christ- not just the Christ Child- but the second coming of Christ as well.\u00c2\u00a0 At that second coming, all of us will be judged.\u00c2\u00a0 So, while we are rejoicing over the promise of our salvation that is made so very real by the birth of the Savior; we need to recognize that a big responsibility comes with that promise.\u00c2\u00a0 All of us now need to be ready for that second coming by living the life of a Christian.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now our families are our first and most important influence on who we become as people.\u00c2\u00a0 Parents and Grandparents are the first and most memorable teachers of children.\u00c2\u00a0 If they don’t teach by taking an active role, then their avoidance of teaching their children effectively teaches any way.\u00c2\u00a0 In the second reading, St Paul gives us incredible and succinct insight on what it takes to be a Christian:\u00c2\u00a0 “Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if one has a grievance against another”; and then later he says “Over all of these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection”.\u00c2\u00a0 Indeed, these are the ingredients that all members of a family need to embrace.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nobody is perfect- no Mom or Dad or Child.\u00c2\u00a0 And when we perceive that somebody has hurt us, we need to draw from Paul’s list of virtues rather than react.\u00c2\u00a0 I know that is hard, because just like every one else here, people in my own family have done things that hurt me.\u00c2\u00a0 I really wanted those dark chocolates, you know!\u00c2\u00a0 But, I have also done things that hurt as well.\u00c2\u00a0 If I want to be forgiven, and even expect to be forgiven; then I have to forgive as well.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s why Paul’s list of virtues is so important.\u00c2\u00a0 And even more critically important is that these virtues be practiced in our own families.\u00c2\u00a0 Because children are watching what their parents do, and that is how they will behave.\u00c2\u00a0 Likewise, our neighbors are watching what we do; and if we don’t reflect our professed Christianity, that is not likely to be a positive influence on them.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is no better example of the effect of hate, rather than love, than the story in today’s Gospel.\u00c2\u00a0 Herod’s jealousy and hate had no limits.\u00c2\u00a0 He was willing to inflict incredible pain on many, many families by killing all the infants in the area in order to be sure that the ancient prophesy of a Messiah was not fulfilled.\u00c2\u00a0 That hatred spawned incredible evil and suffering over many.\u00c2\u00a0 It is no different for us.\u00c2\u00a0 When we hate, the tentacles spread wide and in many unforeseen ways.\u00c2\u00a0 But love, no matter how hard it may be to practice, it can permeate the human spirit and propagate as well.\u00c2\u00a0 So, remember this when you gather as a family:\u00c2\u00a0 “Over all of these put on love.”\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00c2\u00a0 Holy Family Sir 3: 2-6, 12-14; Col 3: 12=21; Mt 2: 13-15, 19-23 Dc. Larry Brockman There’s an old saying that goes something like this:\u00c2\u00a0 “Everyone’s greatest blessing is also their greatest curse”.\u00c2\u00a0 I’ll bet that sometimes you might feel that way about your own family.\u00c2\u00a0 Because our greatest joys come from our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}